1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a configuration to remove a fog generated when ink is ejected from a cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus of an ink-jet type forms an image by ejecting ink from a cartridge onto a recording material.
The image forming apparatus provides a nozzle unit to eject the ink on a bottom surface of the cartridge. Accordingly, as the ink is repetitively ejected, the nozzle unit clogs with bubbles, foreign substances, or the like so that the ink cannot be smoothly ejected. Accordingly, a spitting process for ejecting a predetermined amount of ink through the nozzle unit is performed to prevent a channel of the nozzle unit from clogging, as one example of a maintenance process performed during a period in which the image forming apparatus is not forming an image.
A conventional image forming apparatus has a spitting unit below the nozzle unit, which collects the ejected ink from the nozzle unit during the spitting process. However, during the spitting process, a lot of fine ink fogs above the spitting unit.
Since the conventional image forming apparatus does not collect the fog, many malfunctions may be caused by the fog generated at the spitting process and attached to the nozzle unit, the cartridge, and the like. The fog pollutes an inner part of the image forming apparatus and lowers an image quality of the image formed on the recording materials.
Thus, it may be desired to collect and remove the fog generated at the spitting process.